DuneNews
Duneland School news for parents, students and teachers
Thursday, August 12, 2021 Vol. 56 No. 3
Duneland Students Back In School
Duneland School Teachers and Support Staff Welcomed at Opening Day
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Duneland School Corp. honors years of service at Opening Day event
Duneland School Corporation hosted their annual Opening Day event for teachers and support staff at Chesterton High School Auditorium this past Monday.
Teachers and support staff serving the Corporation for 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years were honored at the event.
Those receiving 20-year awards were: Teachers Susan Calvert-Westchester Intermediate (WIS) teacher; Lana Clemons- Chesterton High (CHS) custodian, Greg Lagenour-Bailly (BA) Elem. custodian, David Lashenik-Liberty Intermediate (LIS) teacher, Connie Linsemeyer-LIS teacher, John Little-CHS custodian, Jean Orlowski-DSC bus aide, Judith Shultz-DSC bus driver and James VanNevel, Chesterton Middle (CMS) Instructional Aide.
For 25 years: Brenda Aaron-DSC bus driver, Karen Moffett-CHS Counselor, Sheri Simmons-LIS teacher, John Snyder-CHS teacher, Jamee Swanson-BA teacher, and Amy Williams-DSC bus driver.
For 30 year: Susan Rehtorik, BA teacher.
For 35 years: Andrew Hritz-Jackson Elem. (JA) custodian, Rose Lipniskis-Adm. Center receptionist, Paul Napier-WIS media specialist, and Kathy Stowers-LIS Child Nutrition associate.
For 40 years: Terry Dunn and Sandra Phelps-both DSC bus drivers.
COVID-19 Dashboard
The DSC administration has established a COVID-19 dashboard that can always be found on our COVID-19 Support Center webpage. The COVID-19 dashboard (below) will now be updated once per day with all active cases reported, and/or will include cases removed from active status (conclusion of the 10-day isolation period). Below is the COVID-19 Dashboard with the latest update available at time of this publication. Please visit the COVID-19 Support Center for the most up-to-date posting.
DSC COVID-19 Support Center
DSC Strategic Plan Timelines
COVID Screening Tool
DSC Response Plan 2021-2022
The 2021-2022 DSC Response plan has been adopted to reflect the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic and will serve as a guiding document for school operations. Due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, this document may be revised and updated on a regular basis. Please consult the DSC Response Plan for details.
TEACHER RECOGNITION
DeRuntz Advances to Top 10 Finalist in 2022 Indiana Teacher of the Year Program
The Indiana Teacher of the Year Screening Committee announced the 2022 INTOY Top 10 Finalists on Friday, August 6, 2021.
Chesterton High School Social Studies teacher, Robert DeRuntz, has been selected as one of the 2022 Indiana Teacher of the Year (INTOY) Top 10 Finalists.
In the Spring of 2020, Robert was selected as a DSC Secondary Teacher of the Year, but due to COVID-19 pandemic, the state delayed its INTOY recognition program. This year, school corporations were encouraged to submit their winners from the past two years into the state's nomination pool.
Each year, the Indiana Teacher of the Year Program (INTOY) works to inspire, rejuvenate, and celebrate the teaching profession by recognizing outstanding teachers from across the state. The INTOY award is a lifetime role in education, which has many opportunities to celebrate teaching and uplift the teaching profession. Indiana Teachers of the Year are a network of exceptional teachers who are current or retired educators, administrators, and teacher leaders who continually provide support to the education community.
The Top 10 Finalists will be considered by the selection committee as they select the “Top 3” Finalists.
The 2022 Indiana Teacher of the Year Top 10 Finalists are:
Lisa Clegg - Fort Wayne Community Schools
Susan Davis - South Bend Community School Corporation
Robert DeRuntz - Duneland School Corporation
Daniel Jones - Perry Township Schools
Jaime Lamkin - Clarksville Community Schools
Brayton Mendenhall - MSD Wayne Township
Gwyn Skrobul - Kankakee Valley School Corporation
Sarah TeKolste - Indianapolis Public Schools
Sharita Ware - Tippecanoe School Corporation
Jennifer Yoder - Goshen Community Schools
Skyward Family Access Quick Guide
Need some help in navigating your Skyward Parent Portal? Here is a Quick Guide with helpful videos attached to guide parents in familiarizing and utilizing Skyward.
Device Information for Grades K-6 and 7-8
At the start of the 2021-22 school year all students in grades 1-8 will be returning their current iPads and receiving a new, 8th generation iPad.
On August 12th, all Duneland 7th grade students need to bring their iPads and charging blocks/cables to school in order to receive their new one.
On August 13th, all Duneland 8th grade students need to bring their ip\Pads and charging blocks/cables to school in order to receive their new one.
All Duneland students in grades 1-6 need to bring their devices and charging cables/blocks in order to receive their new device. More information on those dates will come from the teacher or principal.
All newly enrolled students will visit their respective school's media center to have a new student device assigned to them. Teachers of new kindergarten students will communicate the dates and times for distribution of Kindergarten iPads.
Any students that need technical assistance should notify their homeroom teacher or visit the media center.
Important Information Parents Need to Know
DSC 2021-2022 Calendar
The Revised 2021-2022 Duneland School Corporation Calendar is available on our website. Click on the link above to open or visit our website at Resources > Documents and Forms
Maroon & Gold Calendar/Bell Schedules
Parent Observer Account
Parents are encouraged to set up their Canvas observer accounts to monitor their students' progress.
Parents can click this link to view how to set up their Parent Observer Account
Link to the Canvas Log In
Daily Schedules
2021-2022 School Handbooks
School Supplies Lists
Child Nutrition: 2021-2022 School Meals (FREE)
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted a waiver to allow ALL children under the age of 18 to continue to receive FREE school meals during the 2021-2022 school year. Read more...
Transportation Information
Health Services
SCHOOL MENUS/MEALS
*SCHOOL MEALS UPDATE*
Due to ongoing effects of the COVID Pandemic, many industries are suffering from labor shortages which is causing disruptions and shortages in the food chain. At present, Duneland School's Child Nutrition Department is experiencing unprecendented food order shortages causing many last minute changes to the breakfast and lunch menus. In an effort to communicate these changes to families in a timely manner, we ask that you please check this website daily for any changes to the menu.
Thank you for your patience as we work through these setbacks!
Visit the DSC Child Nutrition page
SCHOOL PICTURE INFORMATION
Student Fall Pictures for Grades K-8
BR - Sept. 15
JA - Sept. 30
LES - Sept. 23
YO - Sept. 23
LIS - Sept. 9
WIS - Sept. 9
CMS - Sept. 3
Coming soon...CHS Student Fall Pictures
School Pictures at CHS for grades 9-12 on August 26 & 27 from 7:30AM - 3:15PM
English classes (or SRT or before/after school if you are absent in your English class)
There are NO separate senior photos.
LINK TO ORDER PHOTOS:
Chesterton HS, Web Link:
Ready, Set, Kindergarten of Duneland
Ready, Set, Kindergarten is a program developed by Parents as Teachers of Porter County to provide school readiness skills to children who have had limited preschool experiences. RSK Duneland is being offered at all elementary schools within DSC.
RSK is a free kindergarten readiness class held once a week inside the elementary schools.
Please email rskclassroom@gmail.com for more information to enroll.
Internet Connectivity
Families without internet due to financial hardship have access to programs from two local providers.
Comcast Internet Essentials:
Families that qualify for public assistance programs such as the National School Lunch Program, Housing Assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI and other programs may also qualify for the Internet Essentials program from Comcast.
This program offers internet for as low as $9.95 per month.
Additional options and services are also available
More information is available at this Comcast link
Frontier Lifeline Program:
Families that qualify for public assistance programs such as the National School Lunch Program, Housing Assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI and other programs may also qualify for the Lifeline Program from Frontier.
More information is available at this Frontier link
Contacting IT Support
The Duneland School Corporation IT department is committed to making hybrid and remote learning models as successful as possible. To get your problems solved as fast as possible:
- Open a new Freshservice ticket:
- AV number is typically located on a sticker on the back/bottom of the device
- Serial number is also acceptable
- AV number is typically located on a sticker on the back/bottom of the device
- Open a Freshservice ticket by sending an email to: helpdesk@duneland.k12.in.us
- Please be sure to include email address, student or staff name, and a description of the problem
- Please use the above best methods to contact the DSC IT Department.
Device Repair
In some cases there will be issues that cannot be resolved remotely. If you have a device that has sustained physical damage (i.e. cracked screen, broken keyboard), please fill out the form below. After submitting the form, a member of the IT department will contact you to schedule your service appointment.
CHS Girls Soccer Team Hosts Two Fundraisers on Saturday
Go Trojans!
Duneland Schools Spirit Store
Did you know that Duneland Schools has an online Spirit Wear Store where you can buy your Duneland spirit wear?
Purchase your CMS/CHS student P.E./Strength Training uniforms (shorts and t-shirts) online and arrange to have them delivered to your home or pick up at the store.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS
Duneland Boys & Girls Club Volleyball
Cub Scout Pack 929 Call-out
Join in the fun with Cub Scout Pack 929!
Cub Scouts is open to ALL Students in grades K-5. Please join Cub Scout Pack 929 at their Big Round Up Bash on August 22 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Chesterton United Methodist Church!
For more information, contact Kris Ballas at chestertonpack929@gmail.com
Check out our facebook page at www.faceboook.com/pack929
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
District Events are available on the Duneland School website at www.duneland.k12.in.us. Click on CALENDAR at the top of the page for a month by month calendar. You can even customize the calendar to see events for the schools your students attend.
Duneland School Corporation
Inspire | Engage | Empower
Email: bmartinson@duneland.k12.in.us
Website: www.duneland.k12.in.us
Location: 601 West Morgan Avenue, Chesterton, IN, USA
Phone: 219-983-3600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dunelandschools/
Twitter: @dunelandk12